On a tragic night in Aurora, Colorado, the life of 17-year-old Benjamin Josiah “Ben” Grant was cut short in a senseless act of violence. On December 14, 1993, Grant, a high school wrestler described as smart, good, goofy, and happy, was working at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. That evening, a former employee, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap, entered the establishment seeking revenge for his recent termination.
After the restaurant closed, Dunlap emerged from a hiding place and began
shooting the employees who were cleaning up. Benjamin Grant was fatally shot near his left eye while he was vacuuming. Three of his coworkers, Sylvia Crowell, 19, Colleen O'Connor, 17, and Margaret Kohlberg, 50, were also killed in the ambush. A fifth employee was seriously injured but survived the attack. The gunman fled the scene after stealing money and game tokens.
The investigation quickly led to Nathan Dunlap, who was arrested at his mother's apartment just twelve hours after the shooting. The weapon used in the murders, a. 25-caliber semiautomatic pistol, was also recovered. Dunlap was subsequently charged with four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, robbery, and burglary.
In 1996, a jury found Nathan Dunlap guilty on all counts and sentenced him to death. Following a lengthy appeals process, an execution date was set for August 2013. However, then-Governor John Hickenlooper granted a temporary reprieve, postponing the execution. In 2020, after Colorado abolished the death penalty, Dunlap's sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has acknowledged his guilt and expressed remorse for the killings, attributing his actions at the time to undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
